Transcript 0:00 Talk to me. Information, news, and entertainment on demand. WSRadio.com. 0:10 [on-hold music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the voice of IoT in our connected world, with your host, Peggy Smedley. Hello, listeners, and welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show. 0:26 As usual, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. In segment one, I began discussing the truly bizarre National Highway Safety Administration's incident that started last week and raised a lot of eyebrows, including mine. 0:40 So the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published amendments to its highway safety program guidelines in the Federal Register. 0:49 Because we here at The Peggy Smedley Show follow traffic safety and distracted driving really closely, we pored through these suggested amendments, you know, eagerly. So that's what we did. 1:00 We were really looking through all these, and let me tell you, I'm, I'm not kidding, shockwaves just ran through our offices when my team and I started to realize what the NHTSA was saying in the supposed amendment. So 1:14 I'll, I'll read a couple of the more interesting ones to you straight from the Federal Register, because I really want you to understand exactly what was in here and what now is being said was a mistake, 'cause I'm just puzzled by all this, and I want listeners to understand how something like this can happen, and this is exactly word for word. 1:32 "With respect to distracted driving, each state should enact and enforce laws prohibiting the use of wireless and electronic communication devices while driving. 1:45 So at a minimum, the law should prohibit a driver from using, e.g., talking, dialing, browsing, texting a wireless electronic communications device while driving." Now what does that say to you? 2:02 I know what that says to me. 2:04 Second, "Making the violation a primary offense, establish a minimum fine for a violation of the law, and prohibit a driver from texting through a wireless electronic communications device while stopped in an active traffic lane." 2:24 So if you're keeping up here with me, and you're following everything I'm saying, the NHTSA was for, at least for the time, you know, pushing states to create and enforce laws that would ban drivers from talking on the phone at all, period, while driving. 2:42 That's clear. [chuckles] That's what these proposed amendments are saying. So... And B, texting while stopping at an active traffic lane, and, and so no texting at sl- stoplights, stop signs. 2:55 You, you know, you think you can text, "I'm not driving, I'm at a stop sign." No, that's what it's saying. Whoa, get serious here. That's what these were saying. 3:02 So naturally, we were all scrambling here, trying to get our contacts on the phone, trying to figure out what all this means. 3:11 So my phone was ringing off the hook as I was talking to my writers, my industry guys and gals, and my connections, working to try to get the federal government on the phone to give us answers on what this all meant. 3:23 So... But sadly, here, here as quickly as this started, this is the best part of it, there were the rumors that it was a misunderstanding. Now, this is my favorite part in government. Everything... 3:36 Or worse, it was a mistake. Now, how does this happen? How is it a mistake? AP released a statement saying that the NHTSA is retracting the proposed amendment to the guidelines. 3:49 Now, in fact, AP's press release said that according to the NHTSA, the guidelines were not fully reviewed before being posted and would be withdrawn. [chuckles] I gotta love, I gotta love this stuff, you know? 4:02 And especially as a journalist like me and, and a, and an investigative reporter, I'm all over this. So further, AP reports that the agency says it has no plans to recommend a cell phone ban. 4:15 Well, this is an election year. I mean, what happened here? That's what I'm saying. So I'm saying if you're out there, something's coming. 4:23 It might not be coming right now, but I'm looking under the covers right now, [chuckles] and I'm saying something's here. 4:30 So if you're out there, you better be paying close attention to this, and you better be listening to me right now, because now I've always been pretty forthcoming with you all here on The Peggy Smedley Show, so I'm not going to give you the runaround. 4:41 What I'm saying is, nobody mixed this up, and nobody wants to talk about it, but after the dust settles, I'm telling you, something's... 4:49 We've seen a, a, a lot of things happening, but what we've always seen is in great terms, all of a sudden people are pushing us to their organizations, and they don't want to talk about it. 5:00 But people who've always been talking to us in the past saying, "We can't talk about it right now." Guests I've had on the show are saying, "We can't. You, you gotta talk to our PR departments." And you know what? 5:10 I get it. You know, no hard feelings towards y'all folks who traditionally have been on the show who... But they don't-- They're freaking out because they don't know what's gonna happen. 5:18 They don't want to get into the political whirlwind of all this, and I get that too. 5:22 But had these recommendations been real, or if they are gonna be real after the election, it would have marked a dramatic turn in events in this space, and that's why we want to mention it right now. 5:34 Because the implications could be huge if this is actually what might happen. Because think about it. All of these Bluetooth systems in our connected cars would suddenly be illegal to use. You can't use them. 5:47 You can't talk hands-free at all. The automakers would have a heyday. They're all pushing hands-free as the solution right now. 5:57 Honestly, part of me when I saw this recommendation, if I can still call them that, was, was excited and saying, I thought, "Wow, theNHTSA has been the death toll-- ha-has seen the death toll, I should say, mounting, and they really want to get to the bottom of this issue? 6:17 Wow, that's incredible. You know, had the rec-re-recommendation stuck, uh, they would have been, have opened up to this public comment period, which is what it was saying. 6:30 The public comment period would have been till, I think, September twenty-second. 6:34 Um, they, they would have seen how people, including industry stakeholders, would have reacted, and, and it would have been interesting to see the outpouring of what it would have happened. 6:43 But instead, we're all just wondering what happened. We never got to see the comment period. Instead, did the fact that, like I said, it's an election year play a role that they decided to say this was a mistake? 6:56 How did... You know, how, how do you un-review the guidelines and, and make it this far? How did unreviewed guidelines make it this far? That's what I want to understand. 7:06 You know, will these suggestions reappear in a few months after the election? These are my questions. These are mine as a journalist. This is what plagues me. 7:13 So, so, so there's no question some heads are rolling right now, and, um, I, I, I don't know how you make mistakes like this happen, or is it really a mistake, or are we just saying it's a mistake? I don't know. 7:25 It's certainly food for thought, but I have to tell you, it's good food for thought. 7:29 It's good that we're looking at these because the number of deaths are, are unmistakably high, and I'd love to see some feedback on Twitter if any of you out there are listening and want to share your opinion. 7:41 Hypothetically, what would happen if all the states said, "No, you know, you, you c-- it's hands-free, you know? You, you, you can't talk on your phones anymore." That's it, you know? 7:52 W-would, would it reduce distracted driving? Would it save lives? I mean, let's get to it. Would the economic impact be severe? I mean, these are really incredible questions. 8:03 I can just hear all the connected car guys and gals screaming at me through my headphones right now. You know, I mean, 'cause we're connected technology people. 8:15 But the number of deaths are unmistakable because people can't help it but be distracted when they drive, and the death numbers are unmistakable. 8:24 I mean, I'm not blaming it on tech, but tech is great, but we got to use tech to save our lives because people are not being responsible. There's a problem. 8:31 So seriously, for a little while there, I thought these were all the questions we were really going to have to start asking. Even if this is a mistake, I really was wondering if these were all the questions, you know? 8:43 We're definitely gonna be following the story throughout the next few weeks to see what, if anything, happens once the dust settles and this becomes a little bit clearer, and, and I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen and, uh... 8:57 But what is great about this, though, is that it's getting us talking about distracted driving again. 9:04 You know, when the National Safety Council puts out numbers and says, "In the last six months, the death toll, the fatalities are going up," and we're not getting any better, despite all the commercials, despite all the marketing, despite all the pledges we take, we need a healthy, ongoing debate about the right and wrong ways to go about preventing people from driving distracted. 9:30 That's, that's the ultimate thing. It's not about what we ban or don't ban, but we've got to get the discussion going because as we s-- w-what we've been doing for years isn't working. 9:43 And what we've been doing here on The Peggy Smedley Show and Connected World Magazine, uh, is we need to constantly find the line between letting technology flourish and preventing people from using it irresponsibly. 9:56 I mean, that's the ultimate goal. That's why I talk about it on the show, and I'm sure people aren't happy that we're bringing all this up, but ultimately, if it leads to saving lives, then I've done my job today. 10:07 If I prevent one person from driving distracted and I've saved a life, then I'm really happy today. Now, I might make a tech company unhappy, but if I've saved a life, then I've done a really good thing. 10:18 So throughout the month of September, we'll be talking about distracted driving. So I hope you will continue to join me in the coming weeks and help us figure out how we reengage in this discussion. 10:32 And I know this early one was not a good one and people don't want to talk about it, but I have two guests now who do want to talk about it, and sadly, one has lost a child because of a distracted driver. 10:44 And we have another guest who, who's passionately engaged in figuring out are laws working, are laws not working, and what do we need to do and, and are there other things that we can do to prevent distracted driving? 10:55 But the point is, we have to engage, we have to educate, and we have to find ways to stop us from driving distracted. 11:02 The ultimate thing is we have to keep our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, and that's what we're here talking about. 11:08 So whether it was a mistake what happened in the Federal Register or not, or whether it's something we don't want to talk about in an election year, I don't know, but at least we're talking about it. 11:17 So we're out of time for this segment, but we've got some really great guests coming on the show who are gonna continue talking about all of this, so stick around. 11:25 Like I said, if you want to tweet at me, tweet at me at Peggy_Smedley, or as always, you know, send us something you want. Send me an email. We'll be happy to learn more about what your thoughts are. But stick around. 11:36 We've got a whole lot more to come right here on The Peggy Smedley Show, the voice of IoT. Please drive safe, and remember, with great technology does come great responsibility. We'll be right back. 11:50 [upbeat music] Education. Industry experts. Back to the basics. Is your company using the Internet of Things to its fullest potential? 12:03 Enlist the Peggy Smedley Institute and its team of experts to create a customized plan for how to apply the IoT to your specific needs. 12:12 Learn everything you need to know to achieve tangible business outcomes in today's digital economy.Contact us at six three zero nine three three zero eight four four. 12:21 At six three zero nine three three zero eight four four or visit learnitiot.com. 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